I’ve been trying to do some barometric altimeter field testing for awhile now, and I keep running into problems on nearly every outing. On the last foray, my Montana 600 shut down twice. I’ve had this happen before and it seems to be due to vibration. This time it was while mountain biking, but I’ve had it happen when hiking too. read more

A recent beta firmware update for the Garmin Montana series brought twenty new data field options to the device, as well as data field categories. You can see four of the new data fields in the screenshot above. The Vertical Distance to Destination is sure to be a hit for the peak baggers among us. Hopefully these will make it to other models as well.

I finally plunked down the cash for the automotive mount and City Navigator for my Garmin Montana 600. I had been a bit reluctant due to the cost, but really wanted to test it. In the end, I was able to get both for just under $100 by doing this…

The Garmin Montana 600 is one of three models in Garmin’s newest handheld series. With it’s huge 4” touchscreen, I had initially thought the Montanas were targeted to the motorized crowd (ATV’s, etc.), but after spending over a month with it, I’m convinced that a lot of hikers and geocachers will be attracted to it as well. Before we get into the details, here’s some info on the rest of the series…

I’ve had a Garmin Montana 600 in hand for a couple of weeks now and so far I’m pretty impressed with it. I initially thought it was targeted at the motorized crowd (ATVs, 4WDs, etc.) due to its size, but now I’m not so sure. While it does make the Oregon series look positively diminutive, in comparison to the 62 series, it’s shorter, is the same thickness, and weighs just an ounce more.

The Garmin Montana series seems most suited to the motorized crowd, those of you with jeeps, ATVs, snowmobiles, etc. And if that fits you, or if you’re willing to tote a 4” screen along on your backcountry or geocaching forays, the wait is over. You can now have a dual-use unit that will switch from a nuvi-like interface to a full blown wilderness navigator at the drop of a hat. Here are some places you can get the Montana today (and remember that going through our partner sites helps keep GPS Tracklog here for you!):

Garmin is announcing a new handheld line this morning, the Garmin Montana series. Three models, the Montana 600, 650 and 650t, make up the line, which feature the ability to rotate between portrait and landscape orientations and give turn-by-turn directions.